Tamer X
by Haeker
Summary: Three years after the D-Reaper was vanquished to the Digital World, a new set of troubles has arisen. Can our favorite group of Tamers save both worlds once again?
1. Default Chapter

Note to all readers: Being a severe Digimon addict, fanatic, obsessor, and zealot, I have finally decided to write my own fanfiction taking place immediately after the finale of Season 3. Why? I hate cliffhangers. Really, really, REALLY hate 'em. The story will include all of your favorites from Season 3 - Takato, Ruki, Lee, Ryo, Kenta, Hirokazu, Shuichon, Juri, and more, as well as a new Tamer. In addition, there will be new as well as old digimon from the series - in fact, email me at with your suggestions and requests and I'll see what I can do to fit them in. After all, this fanfic is to see all of our Digimon dreams come true (sort of, anyway).  
Oh, and, btw: This is rated PG-13. I wanted to make it a little more mature oriented, so you might see language, suggestive themes, and even death in the story. Nothing that will ruin it, of course - just some added flavor.  
I'm going to go at this one with two main storytelling styles: Narrative and Third-Person. If you don't know what that means, go look it up in your damned grammar book or use your imagination.  
  
Episode 1: Better To Have Loved and Lost...?  
  
Three years have passed since the last episode of Season 3. Takato, 16, is now working part-time at his parent's bakery. Ruki, 16, is still staying with her mother and grandmother. Janrya, 16, has begun to learn extensive programming skills under the tutelage of his father, the Monster Makers, and occasionally from Yamaki. Kenta and Hirokazu, 16, have changed very little - Kenta is still a troublemaker, and Kazu is still his sidekick. Juri, age fourteen, has quickly matured since losing Leomon, and has grown close to Takato. Shuichon, 9, has put aside her dolls and dress- up in favor of art and music. And Ryo? Well, Ryo.... you'll find out.  
  
Amazing. No matter how screwy the world was before Digimon entered it, it was at least twice as bad the day they left it. For one, there was destruction. A lot of it. Cities across the world have been invaded by the D-Reaper - indeed, most of the world had been covered by the sickly purplish-pink mass of... whatever. Frankly, most of North America was trashed - Los Angelas, Manhattan, Chicago, all of the main cities had been nearly leveled; Tokyo and Kyoto were the just about the only two cities in the world that had survived without incredible destruction, and even then... To put a single word to it, the planet had been curbstomped.  
And let's not forget the mental aspect of this, both to the worldwide Tamers and the rest of the population. Seeing large masses of essence- deleting goup spreading over what you used to know as forest, plains, mountains, and cities was disturbing to say the least, and yeah, shrinks had their work cut out for them. But let's peek in on our friendly Digimon Tamers - no one specific, at least, not yet - just a general overview. Digimon were partners, allies, and friends: suddenly losing them was like having your best friend die. Tears flowed freely the day Digimon left Earth, to put it conservatively. One good thing about the whole mess: at least when the world had to unite against the D-Reaper threat, wars stopped and conflicts ceased. Indeed, for a long time there would be no more bloodshed or extensive loss of life - humanity had seen enough.  
Of course, that's just with Earth. The Digital World had suffered whatever Earth had times ten plus infinity. It no longer even resembled what it had when the first Digidestined set foot in it - or even what it had when the Tamers were visting. It was just alot worse now; desolate, barren wastelands; corrupted air and earth; vicious digital weather that struck anywhere and everywhere at will; and perhaps most unsettling of all, many Digimon had become predators and prey, being slain and absorbed by their own kind on a nearly-regular basis. But don't worry! Our favorite Digimon are still alive, be assured.  
Now that you have the general idea of what both world's current status is, let's return to the lives we once left long ago. Panning in from the world view, lets zoom in on Japan. Woosh. All right, into Tokyo. The looks, well, like someone dropped a giant vat of viscous acid on it - thus, clean up was minimal. Skyscrapers tower into the sky, melted at the zenith like a great sword dipped into lava. Well, anyway, let's focus on a certain bakery... yes, you all know which one. The area at this time of night is pretty much deserted, but you can still see the occasional pedestrian heading home from work or a car or truck driving along the streets. There is one person heading toward the bakery, walking slowly on one side of the pavement. A teenage girl. She appears to be rather young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old. And there, she just entered the building.  
  
The door chimes jingled, announcing that someone had opened the door and entered. Brown-haired Takato - yes, still wearing the goggles on top of that tangled mess - glanced up towards the entrance and smiled. "Juri! Hey, how yah doin?" He pulled off the white baker's apron to reveal a dark blue tee-shirt with a white stripe down the middle, navy cargo shorts, and sneakers, and walked around the partitioned counter to greet the newcomer, his shoes emitting squeaking sounds on the tiled floor. Juri sat down at one of the booths and sighed. She was dressed in a green long-sleeve turtleneck, blue jean shorts with the cuffs turned up, and sneakers similar to Takato's. Her brown hair was cut to waist length, partially pulled back to show her face and drawn into a ponytail. Her eyes held a haunted, lonely look in them - obviously, something troubled her, and it had been for a long, long time.  
"What's wrong?" Takato took a seat at the booth and laid his head on his hands, which sat on the table. "You look like something's really bothering you." His face was somber as he studied her face and demeanor. He could take a wild guess as to what.  
She glanced up at him and managed a weak smile. "Takato, it's nothing. I swear, I have to stop coming in here and bothering you all the time with my problems. I should learn to deal with them myself. It's nothing, really. I just came to see you."  
"Juri, c'mon, you know you can't fool me. I've known you for a long time. What's on your mind?"  
"Well..." She looked at her hands and began to inspect the nails, as if they were suddenly the most interesting things ever. "Well... it's the same thing that's been bothering me for a long time."  
Takato knew instantly - Juri had been coming into the bakery nearly every day for months with the same pining look in her eyes and that haunted aura. "Leomon. You miss him." He sighed and leaned back in the booth. "Yeah, I miss Guilmon, too. Our Digimon will always be a part of us, you know, and they always will. It's something that..." He paused, looking for the right words. "It's something that makes it easier for us to bear and, well, makes us sad at the same time. We just have to go on. As hard as that may be - actually, as impossible as that may be."  
She nodded, as if she understood, but deep down, she knew that somehow, she would never be able to forget or throw off her veil of grief. "It's not really the same. You lost Guilmon when all of the Digimon were sucked back into the digital world - I lost Leomon when Beelzemon... killed him."  
"You still focus on that? Didn't you forgive Impmon?"  
She nodded again. "Yes, I did. I don't blame him any more. The only one I really blame now is me." Tears began to trickle down one cheek. "If I had been a better Tamer... if I had used my cards right... if I had guided Leomon better or prevented him from trying to stop Beelzemon..."  
Stripping the goggles from his head and slapping them down on the table, he took Juri's hands in his own and looked into her eyes, halting her stream of self-deprevating comments. "Look, Juri... You did what you knew to do, and Leomon did what he thought best. You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened, yah know? And... who knows?" He loosed her hands and shrugged, again reclining in the booth. Hesitantly, he murmured, "Maybe one day, we'll see them again."  
"We've tried that, you know. That digital hole you found closed up before we could re-enter it. Mr. Lee and the rest of the Monster Makers have been trying for nearly three years to find a way to get back to the Digital World, or otherwise open up a portal to it. It's..." She was openly crying now. "It's just not possible!" Her voice sounded hopeless, but she was also grasping for straws - a possibility, anything.  
Takato got up off of the booth and sat down next to her. "Aww, Juri... you're crying again. You know I can't stand it when you're sad. It makes me worse." He put an arm around her and sighed. "I don't know... maybe it's just this feeling I have. It's been getting stronger over time. I... I dunno." He put one hand in his pocket, the left one. "Do you... uh, still have your D-Power?"  
She smiled, happy to change the subject, if only a little. She produced from her own pocket her small D-Power, and as she set it down on the table, Takato pulled out his and set it alongside hers. They were identical, except for the color. Hers was white, his was red. "They don't work anymore. I can still turn mine on and push a few buttons, but the readout keeps showing 'Error.' It's like... like he's gone forever." The tears were back again, this time more so.  
From the back in the bakery's core - the kitchen - Takato's father poked his head out. "Oh, hey, Juri. When did you come in?"  
"Just a few minutes ago, Mr. Matsuda. How are you?" She turned her head to whipe away the tears coursing down her face.  
Takehiro Matsuda grinned happily. "I'm fine, Juri. Nice of you to ask." He emerged completely from the kitchen, himself and his apron covered nearly head-to-toe in floury stuff. "Hey, Takato, I hate to bother you on your break, but - and you're not gonna believe this - we just ran out of flour."  
Takato did a double-take. His father was covered in flour, even tracking it in onto the tiled floor. His father wasn't usually this wasteful... "Uh... Okay. I guess I can go get another ten-pound sack at the market. If old Sauzer is still open."  
"He is. I just called to reserve a sack. Thanks, son. Oh..." He walked over to the cash register and opened it, withdrawing several bills. "This should cover it. Why don't you and Juri get something to drink while you're there? My treat." He tossed the bills onto the table booth that the two were sitting at.  
Takato smiled at his father. "Thanks, Dad." Retrieving the bills, he stuffed them into one of the large cargo pockets on his shorts and got up. "Need anything else?"  
"Nope, that's it. No hurry, it's a nice night out." He paused, glancing at Juri's tear-sodden face for a moment, and smiled. "Feel free to take a nice walk in the park on your way." His father nodded, then vanished through into the kitchen again in a cloud of white.  
Takato hmmed. "Kinda weird. I could have sworn we had a hundred pounds of flour in the back - how could we have run out so quickly?" He shrugged and glanced down at Juri, who was staring out the window into the night. "You, uh, wanna go and get those drinks like Dad suggested? Maybe take a walk in the park?"  
She simply looked up at him and nodded, misty-eyed. "That would be nice." The retrieved their D-Powers, he grabbed his goggles off of the table and tugged them back on, and the two left bakery and retreated into the night.  
From within the kitchen, Mr. Matsuda smiled... fiendishly. He walked farther into the house and opened the storeroom door. Inside, along with several heaping sacks of flour, lay the bound and gagged form of... Mr. Matsuda. The fake Matsuda smiled, and his eyes began to grow red as the real Matsuda stared, horrified. Even as his eyes glowed, the Digimon shifted into a different shape, this one dark and shadowy, without a true form. But the red, glowing eyes remained, and from within emanated dark laughter.  
"I'm done with your form now, Matsuda. Time to go to that little rendezvous with... your son." The laugher increased in volume as the real Matsuda struggled against his bonds, furiously struggling to free himself.  
  
The two had left the bakery some time ago, and were now walking hand- in-hand through the park. Not far away, the very top of the park stone shed where Guilmon had once been housed could be seen. The two noticed of course, unable not to, the place brought back so many memories... It was good to remember, but it filled them with sorrow, as well. Still, neither would have ever forgotten, even if they could have.  
"I remember... I remember coming here with Guilmon for the first time." Takato looked into the starry sky - less city lights after the destruction meant more beautiful skies at night - and sighed. "That was after I figured out that an alley wasn't the best place for the guy." He grinned at the thought of Guilmon running around the school in a cardboard box, scaring the principal, and generally making a mess of the situation. "He was a digger, that's for sure. I wonder what'll happen when one of the park authorities finally find the shed..."  
Juri smiled and looked into the sky as well. "They would probably monumentize it. After all, Guilmon was one of the ones that saved this world and the next, remember? You, Lee, Ruki, and Ryo's faced were all over the news, as well as pictures of Guilmon, Terriermon, Renamon, and Monodramon." She laid her head on his shoulder as the walked. "I know the memories hurt... but... I never want to forget. Promise me that you'll never forget either, Takato."  
He smiled down at her. "I couldn't if I wanted to. You know that."  
Chuckling could be heard from the darkness of the treed park. "Isn't that cute."  
The two ex-Tamers jumped and glanced around them, trying to determine the source. The chuckling had quickly surrounded them, and now was no longer a single voice, but multiple ones. The shrubs on either side of the cobbled path began to rustle, and from them emerged men. Not men, really, but older boys. They looked to range from around sixteen to about nineteen, and all of them hefted some sort of bludgeon, which they waved menacingly.  
One stepped forward, a skinny, white-haired punk that wore a sleeveless leather vest over bere chest and brown leather pants. "Isn't this just sooooo adorable." He said, in a mocking tone. "We have a pair of lovebirds here, boys. What should we do with the lovebirds, hmm?" His words addressed the gang, but were more centered toward Takato and Juri.  
While the gang hooted and jeered, Takato stepped foreword. "What do you want with us? Who are you?"  
The white-haired punk grinned maliciously. "I'm Bull. This here is my gang - the Jaggers. Fitting, eh?" Takato rolled his eyes, and Bull slapped him with a vicious backhand, sending Takato careening backwards into Juri, causing her to topple as well. "Let's have some fun with this pair, huh, boys? I got the chick - you all can have the other kid!" With that, the gang, composed of at least a half-dozen, advanced.  
  
TBC in the next - DIGIMON!  
  
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	2. The Summons

Episode 2 - The Summons  
  
We left our friendly pair of ex-Tamers in the park, surrounded by thugs and brutes calling themselves the 'Jaggers.' What will happen to our favorite duo?  
  
It was hopeless. Takato and Juri were not fighters, and these good- for-nothing street punks outnumbered them three-to-one. Their leader, Bull, stood over Takato with a large, metal pipe, preparing to bash him out of the way. Takato lept up and positioned himself directly in front of Juri in a protective motion. "Don't lay a hand on herhe spat defiantly, teeth clenched and eyes set.  
Bull sneered and laughed, and without warning swung the pipe in a wide arc, straight for Takato's head. Takato raised his left arm in an effort to block and flinched, prepared to take the first of what would surely be many blows. But... it never came. He slowly opened his eyes, and at the same time, the jeers and taunts stopped and Juri gasped, throwing a hand to her mouth.  
The swing had been stopped short from ever hitting Takato - by a hand. From out of nowhere, a person had materialized in front of them, head covered in a hood. The person's frame was a bit hard to determine, and he was clad in uniform black - a hooded sweatshirt of black, black khakis, and black hiking boots. His hand, which was sporting some sort of wrist watch, gripped the bludgeon firmly. A voice resonated from the hood, cold and grim. "That's not how you swing a pipe. Try it this way!" With a jerk he ripped the cudgel from the stunned Bull's hand and slammed him in the face with a vicious left, twisting on one leg to bring the pipe over and up in his own vicious arc. Bull flew back several feet, nose broken, crying out and landing on his back.  
And thus the fight began. The cloaked brought the newly-appropriated pipe up and hurled it at one gangster. The pipe lodged into the gangster with a crunch, and he dropped, blood immediately pooling around him. The next fiend attempted to club the figure's head with a large, wooden plank. The figure deflected the plank with one clenched fist, then brought up a leg and kneed the creep in the groin before delivering a roundhouse kick which sent him flying much in the same fashion as Bull had. Two others tried similar tactics and met similar fates; the first receiving a flurry of short, quick blows to the face and a snap to the neck (which for all intents and purposes ended his career in thughood), and the second tripped over his fallen comrade, opening himself up to several vicious stomps to the face as a result.  
The fight over, the figure turned to Takato and Juri, his face hidden in shadows. "Well, you won't have to worry about them again." Glancing down, he added, "Poor fools." His voice sounded young, perhaps the similar in age to Takato's, but with a deeper ring to it. "You both okay?" It was edged with concern and a little anxiety.  
Takato glanced around at the fallen heaps, then at the last remaining gangster which had fled for dear life - not surprising. He sighed in relief and then turned to face Juri before replying. "Yeah, we're okay now." A new thought hit him and he turned to face their savior. "Thanks."  
  
"Who are you?" Juri said. She still clutched Takato's arm, not sure if the ordeal was over or sure of anything for that matter.  
The figure glanced around for a moment, and then peeled back his hood, revealing the face of a late teenager. He was particularly handsome, with large, brown eyes, a small mouth, pointed nose, and thick, brown hair formed into a ponytail at the base of his neck. "My name is Rand. Random Haedara." He paused as police sirens came into earshot, then directed his command toward Takato. "No questions. This place is going to be swarming with authorities soon. I don't have time to explain in more detail, and you obviously don't know me from those punkass kids I just busted, but in the interests of your own survival, get to the Jenrya Lee's as soon as you can. I've got to get to Makino residence within the next-" He glanced at the his watch. "Five minutes." He took off in run past them.  
Takato opened his mouth to argue, to try and pry more information from Rand, but a thought corssed his mind. "Ah... isn't Ruki's house a good fifteen minute run from here?"  
Random turned in mid-run and backpedaled, raising his hands in a shrug. "For you." He righted himself and accelerated, running... faster than a human should be able to. Within the span of no more than five seconds, he had already disappeared from sight.  
Takato cocked his head and grinned, impressed. "That guy could run track at my school." He shook his head at Juri.  
"Or at the Olympics." She sighed, then glanced down at the pavement and froze. Blood, mainly from the pipe-impaled thug, was rapidly covering the sidewalk. Her face growing pale and knees giving way, she let out a groan and crumpled into Takato's arms. Not exactly the most squeamish person in the world, but sure as hell not the heartiest... He grabbed her shoulders to prevent her from slipping into the pooled blood - because that would be just plain nasty.  
Lifting Juri up in his arms and putting her arm around his neck, he trotted past the unconscious/dead bodies and headed away as fast as his legs could carry both him and Juri. Not exactly how he had imagined the night going... I don't get it. He glanced over his shoulder at the ex-gang of brutes. Thoughts raced through his mind, questions unanswered. Why should I do anything he says? Why is he heading to Ruki's? The thought worried him. He just beat up... killed... what if he... No, that didn't make sense. He saved us... What if Ruki is in danger?  
  
Bull was still out cold as the rest of his gang slowly revived. They had each been clobbered before either could inflict a single blow, and each was sporting several bruises and wrenched joints. Two were dead: one with a broken neck, the other with a large pipe protruding from his gut. In the distance there could be heard police sirens, drawing very near. Panicking, the 'loyal' gangster remnant ran off deeper into the park, leaving their prone leader to his fate.  
As Bull painfully righted himself, his head swam and his mouth tasted of blood. His senses were still fuddled by the vicious blow to his head, his jaw throbbed, his nose bled, and his eyesight was fuzzy; therefore, he did not realize that there was something in front of him until it reached out and grasped his vest by the front, dragging him up. Eyes wide, he let out a cry as he stared at the thing holding him upright.  
It was a seemingly-disembodied claw, composed of void-black scales with a blood-red gem embedded in the wrist. It seemed to yell, still clutching his vest tightly. "WHY did you not kill them as I commanded you to?" The voice had an English accent, bassitone, and entirely malevolent. "How hard could it have been to kill two weak humans?"  
Bull cringed, feeling hot breath from what he could only assume was an invisible head screaming at him. "They weren't alone, like you said they would be! This guy came out of nowhere and-!" The claw was now clenching his throat, cutting off all circulation and airflow. His tongue flapped uselessly in his mouth and he stared into the now-revealed face of his soon-to-be-slayer. It was... hideous. Reptilian. Red eyes, horns, and black scales, rows of sharp teeth, and nostrils that emitted noxious fumes. It spoke.  
"You weak, pitiful WRETCH!" The last word came out as a roar as the Digimon's claw gave a vicious twist, tearing off Bull's head. The head and body fell separately, splattering the concrete with blood. "If you could not deal with those pests, then you are no longer useful to me."  
As a pair of police cruisers drew near, the hand and head disappeared entirely.  
  
Juri had managed to recover from her shocked state enough to slip from Takato's arms and run with him. "Where are we going?" She yawned, as if just awaking from a long nap.  
Takato grimaced as he tripped over something on the ground. He halted, checking the area, trying to get his bearings. All around them, shops of all kinds were closed up - some due to the late hour, others due to severe structural damage. A lot of these places had been hit hard during the D-Reaper attack, and only a few had been renovated and restored. Most of these hadn't, which told Takato he was on the less prosperous side of town. Made sense. "I'm taking you home. Something is going on, I have no idea what it is, and I'm not about to let you get mixed up in it and... and possibly get hurt."  
"What are you talking about? I heard what he said as well as you did, and I'm just as curious. You aren't going to run off without me."  
"But... Juri, people died back there. Died. I don't even think he cared." Takato brought up his hands in a suplicating gesture. "You can't..."  
"You AREN'T.going to leave me behind." Juri put her hands on her hips and managed one of those looks that only women can give, the one that said 'If you stop me, you're going to regret it."  
He backed up a step and brought his hands up again, this time in a surrender. That was not a side of Juri he wanted to be on. "...Oookay then, we're checking it out together. Just promise me that you'll be careful, please?"  
Ignoring his plea, she smiled cheerily. "So, where are we going?" She was back to being bright and perky - odd, considering what they had just gone through. "Jenrya's, right?"  
"Personally, I'd like to go check up on Ruki, but..." He shrugged. "I dunno. I have a feeling that this Rand guy is... someone we can trust. I hope." He shrugged and looked to the south, where most of Tokyo's larger apartment complexes stood. From this distance, the damage was visible but not obvious. "Jenrya's, yeah."  
"Okay."  
  
No came to answer when someone knocked at the Makino residence front door; since it was evening, no one was awake. No one, except, for one particular girl. Ruki Makino didn't hear the knocking, however - she was rather busy at the moment, writing by candlelight. A writer at heart, she scribbled down whatever came to her mind, whenever it came. She wasn't a published writer, at least, not yet. But given time...  
Scrambling to the top of the garden wall, Rand peered through the darkness, squinting, but it was impossible to see anything in the cloudy, moonless night. Nothing stirred nor made a single sound. Still, he could make out a few shapes here and there. Funny. I don't recall hearing about this place... and yet I feel as if I've been here before... He hmmed silently, then remembering why. Reminds me of home. Returning to the mission at hand, he started to call out, when...  
The door to Ruki's chambers flew open, startling him. With a cry - "Shit!" - he toppled off the wall and landed on the other side with a dull thud. Ruki stood in the doorway, a terrycloth robe wrapped tightly around her petite frame, hair hanging loosely at her back, eyes scanning the darkness. She hurried across the grass, careful not to stub her bare toes on any of the aesthetic stepping-stones. This kid had excellent night vision.  
The stone wall that surrounded the Makino residence was over twelve feet high, but apparently, it wasn't high enough. A hand shot over the wall's edge, anchoring for an arm, which was attached to a shoulder, torso, and head. Rand's face shot up over the lip, followed by the rest of his body. Now crouched on the top of the wall with both hands gripping, shuddering from the exertion. "I would have entered from the front door, but nobody answered when I knocked." He grimaced and stretched with his right arm, careful not to lose his footing again.  
Ruki smiled up at Random. Whoa. She's beautiful. He was taken aback by the way the moon (which had decided to show from behind the clouds) shone on her face, perfectly outlining her matured features. Thus, he was caught off guard when she, in a lightning-quick motion, hurdled the wall in two bounds and stood next to him. Planting her foot on his chest, she shoved, sending him flying back off of the wall and onto the pavement below. He landed with yet another expletive, lying still several moments.  
Pushing himself up, he slowly straightened and stretched very gingerly. He stared up at her. The moon framed her face and torso in a magnificent light. Wow. Both looks and spirit. Coughing, he managed a scowl. "I suppose you learned that technique from Renamon?"  
She froze, heart skipping several beats at the mention of that name. Her violet eyes widened and her mouth gaped. "How do you know Renamon?" All signs of violence and anger left her in that instant. "Who are you?"  
He grinned. "Thought that might help break the ice." His voice was low and calm, soft and peaceful. Something in her expression prevented him from growing overly caustic about the drop - he could see that his words had struck a chord. "I can't tell you that right now - there isn't really enough time to explain myself. The most I can really give you right now is my name - Random."  
Her hair flowed in the sudden breeze, and her robe began to flutter, revealing more of her shapely physique than was modest. Crouching and clutching the robe around her, she lowered herself and reached down a hand toward him. "Sorry about that. I'm Ruki."  
He nodded and reached up to shake the hand, then released it almost instantly. "I know - and I'm not coming back up, sorry. Enough pushing my luck for one night." He pointed toward the corner that led to the main entrance. "How about I come in the front door?"  
Less than a minute later, the two of them sat across from each other at the small kitchen table. The room was rather simple - a stove stood at one wall, a kitchen sink and preparation counter at the other, various single-door cabinets lined the walls higher, and the floor was made of rough plank. Ruki leaned over so that she could whisper and still be heard. "You mentioned Renamon?"  
Intent, this one... I can see she cares... is this a Tamer's bond? I can't let her down. "Yeah, but, like I said before, I don't have enough time to fill you in - not here, anyway." He glanced at his watch and mashed the nightlight so that he could read the time in the dark room. "I should have been here and gone already." He frowned. "Here's what I can tell you." He paused, looking for the correct words. "...You... Takato... Lee... others..." He shook his head. "I can't... explain, not now, not here. You have to trust me." He eyes shined with the intensity of his words.  
She met his gaze with her own. In it, she found was what she was looking for. Hope. "I trust you." And she meant it. Something deep down told her that, even though this Random was a stranger, believing his words was the correct path.  
He sighed. "Good. Head to the Lee residence. Takato and Juri are already on there way there." He scooted back the chair and headed toward the door. Opening it, he hesitated. "She's fine, Ruki." He scanned her face with his eyes. Man, losing a digimon partner must wreak havoc on someone.  
Apparently, that was all she was going to get from him. Her eyes followed him as he left the kitchen, and then lingered on the door. Renamon... The word still rang in her mind, filling her with a sense of joy and sorrow at the same time. Bolting from the chair, she raced across the hallway toward her garden-side room, closing the shutter door behind her. Less than a minute later, she emerged, clothed in a tan leather jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of red-and-white sneakers. A thought crossed her mind, and before leaving, she approached her writing desk. Dare she hope?... She pulled a key from one of the desk drawers and inserted it into the lock of another. The drawer popped open. Inside... inside lay her most valuable momento - her D-Power. The yellow rim and liquid crystal display reminded her of so many things, so many times, events, people and places...  
Shoving the device into one pocket, she raced out of the room and into the night. The Lee residence, huh? If I run, I can be there in less than...  
  
The elevator in the Shinbaya apartment complex dinged, and the doors slid open. Nothing moved for several seconds, the doors closed, and the elevator car began to travel back down to it's original floor.  
From within apartment number fourty-one, all was silent - at this time of night, everyone was asleep. A television buzzed in corner, the only source of light or life in the entire living room. It shone a dim, eerie, white glow across the snoozing form of Jenrya Lee, who was curled up on the couch with an open biology book in his arms. The rest of the room was dark, obscured from sight.  
The external hallway light flickered for a moment before returning to their usual mundane glow. Then, they flickered again. And again. Finally, a fourth time, they went entirely out.  
The television in the fourty-one's living room was showing the late night news. The latest story had something to do with city-wide reconstruction efforts, but before the story could progress very far, the screen flashed into static, slowly growing more and more dim before finally going out. The room was pitched into utter darkness, the only light coming from underneath the apartment door, and soon that went out as well. Subconsciously disturbed by the full silence, Jenrya slowly opened his eyes, waking. He peered around the room, eyes barely accustomed to the lack of light. And suddenly, for some reason, he felt afraid. It wasn't the darkness that scared him - he had long ago outgrown being afraid of the dark - but something disturbed him nonetheless. Like...  
Like a powerful feeling. An aura of gloom. As if...  
A click came at the door. Bolting upright, Jenrya peered into the darkness, grasping, holding the book at an angle to throw. Another click, and a third, a fourth, then nothing. What on earth? Still hefting the heavy biology book like a bludgeon, he pushed himself off of the couch and approached the door. Peering through the peephole, he could see nothing but black. Power must have gone out...  
His eyes widened. W...what!?  
  
What did Jenrya just see? Who is this 'Rand?' What does he know about Renamon? Find out in the next... DIGIMON!  
  
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	3. Not Your Average Humon

Episode 3: Not Your Average Humon  
  
You all have been wanting something original. Well, here you will see the start of something new. It might seem rather mundane, but like I said, it's the beginning.  
  
Random was almost to the Shinbaya complex - in fact, it was directly ahead of him - when he noticed it. Something wasn't quite right around him - his enhanced senses told him that much. He glanced at his watch. I've already been here an hour and a half. The portal won't stay open for too much longer...  
His surroundings were dark - not surprising, since it was the dead of night. The apartment complex loomed in front of him, but something was blocking his path. And yet, not blocking it, because as far as he could see, the way was clear. He was standing within a grassy park, trees that had been planted almost three years ago dotting the landscape. The park was square, surrounded by sidewalk, paved road, and then tall buildings. An occasional bench lined the square as well, along with street lamps here and there, and in the center of the whole thing resided a newly-dug pond.  
There it was, right in front of him. He could see it clearly now - or at least, the outline, since it wasn't really visible in most senses of the word. To the naked eye, it would look like heat rising off pavement, except for a few particulars. First, it wasn't anywhere near pavement - it was on the grass itself. Second, it rose higher, and had a more viscous quality to it. Looking directly at it was like looking through a mass of water. The thing towered over him, no more than fifteen feet away, shimmering in the lamplight. Then suddenly, the lights went out - all of them, leaving the full moon as the only source of light.  
  
Jenrya recoiled as the door vibrated under a heavy knock. Hesitating for a moment, he whipped open the door and raised the heavy hard-cover book in one hand, ready to bash whatever was on the other side.  
"I can't believe your family lives in this dump. That's, what, the sixth time the electricity has gone out in the last month?" Ruki stood on the other side, arms crossed, a slightly miffed expression painted on her face. "Is he here yet?"  
"Yeah, nice to see you too, Ruki." He stepped back and opened the door wider. "Come in." Having been friends with Ruki for more than three years, he was never surprised at her nocturnal habits. If she wanted to show up in the dead of night for this or that reason, then not only was it to be expected, but also impossible to stop. Closing the door as she entered, he remarked on the last part of her statement. "Who's he?"  
"Random." It was hard to tell anything in the darkness, but in the moonlight coming from the balcony windows, her movements and motions exposed her nervous and tense mood. "He's a guy about this tall," She raised her left hand to about six feet off the ground. "Has brown hair, wearing all black. Has he been by?"  
This explanation confused Jenrya. "Nobody like that's been here. Friend of yours?" He strode past her into the open kitchen and opened the cream-colored refrigerator, pulling from it a bottle of water. His family got into the habit of keeping these sort of necessities around the house in case of a power outage, a thing that had been happening all to frequently with the city-wide reconstruction.  
"Not really. Just... someone who showed up." Ruki pushed past him and reached into the fridge for a water of her own. "He... he mentioned Renamon, and then told me to meet him here." The naming of her partner brought a gloomy look to her face... She took a swig from the bottle. Relief flooded through her - she had run the entire way. "I think Takato and Juri are coming, too."  
Jenrya brushed a hand through his wavy hair. He kept it longer now than he used to. "Okay, hold on. What do you mean he 'mentioned Renamon?' That's not exactly a common household name. And why are Takato and Juri-"  
He was interrupted as a new voice called from the hallway. It was Jenrya's father, Janyuu. "Jenrya, what's all this noi-" He turned the corner and spotted Ruki, and at the same time flipped a nearby light switch. "Oh, Ruki, hello. Power's out again, huh?" He didn't wait for a response, and instead asked another question. "What are you doing up so late?"  
About to reply, Jenrya was interrupted by a thunderous crack followed by a boom coming from the street below. Ruki, Jenrya, and his father all ran to the balcony window and peered outside.  
  
The loss of light hadn't helped the situation much. Random could no longer see the cloaked thing that awaited, undoubtedly prepared to tear him to shreds. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, relying on his enhanced senses of feel and hearing.  
Whatever the thing was took that moment to strike. It hurdled through the air at meteoric speeds, striking Rand full in the chest like a sledgehammer. He flew backwards several feet and impacted with a small oak. Something snapped, sending pain coursing through his body. Not good. If this is a digimon... He pushed himself up and staggered to one side. Then it's not a rookie. Champion. Maybe even Ultimate. He fished in his pocket for something as he ran, trying to put distance between him and the thing while he thought up a plan.  
The cloaked beast wasn't going to have any of this, however, and cut Rand off seconds later, unleashing another blow, which sent him flying yet again. This time, he didn't slam into a tree - he crashed into a bench. The bolted-down structure barely gave against his weight, which meant that his own body absorbed much of the collision. Nothing snapped this time, but something crunched. Sickened and knowing that something was definitely broken, he rolled to one side and withdrew from his pocket the item he had been fishing for. A card.  
Pushing himself up for at least the third time that evening, he barely managed to duck and avoid a horizontal cleave from the beast. He could feel the attack whistle over him. He's toying with me. He suddenly new that as truth - an Champion or Ultimate could easily unleash a deadly blow that would obliterate him... in this form.  
Straightening from the crouch, he raised his left arm in a defensive motion and brought his right arm across it, the card he had retrieved held between two fingers. In a single fast motion, he swiped the card through a slit on what we had mistakenly believed to be a simple watch.  
"DNA Modify - Elecmon activate!"  
A blaze of light spewed forth from the device - a D-Chrono - enveloping Random in a bright aura. The D-Chrono squealed as it's power levels reached maximum as it utilized the data from the card. The light obscured him entirely from view now, covering the entire park and most of the nearby buildings with a brilliant light. A hand pushed through the white curtain, a human hand and not at the same time, followed another hand and finally the rest of the body.  
The form was that of Random's, and not in that was surrounded by a flux of electrical energy which pulsed through his very skin. The white light faded away as the D-Chrono powered down, plunging the park once more into darkness, but Rand had already caught sight of his target, which was apparently preparing for a much stronger attack than before. Oh, no, you don't. Raising his hands and bringing them down again, thumbs together and hands level , he cried out. "Jamming Thunder!"  
A bolt of pure electricity, a surge of lightning lanced from his hands with a loud crack, lancing toward the nearing blur. It struck with a resounding boom, halting the digimon's charge and sending staggering backwards several feet. Veins of electricity coursed through the things body, showing visible through the cloak, which then disappeared as the energy overloaded it. The attack finished, the flux faded, finally revealing in full Random's attacker.  
It was huge. No, huge wasn't the right word. Massive worked better, not in size, but in visible power. The digimon was crouched over like a Greymon, but wasn't nearly the size, and was covered in black scales. Red gems, now cracked and broken (probably the sources of the cloak), dotted the creature's frame here and there - on a hand, the forehead, the feet, torso, and so on. It had a tail about ten meters long, much too large for it's comparatively smaller body, laying flacidly on the ground. The things head was sizable as well, with large, gleaming fangs protruding from its gaping maw, as well as red-irised eyes and a twin horns sprouting on either side of the head. The whole beast was very reptilian, much like a black dragon without wings. It simply stood there, the electrical attack (which was specially designed to stun and interrupt systems and attacks) still affecting it.  
He knew what the digimon was called - he had run into several times before in his time in the digital world. Exedramon was an executioner dragon monster, sporting several lightning-quick and powerful attacks that had ended many a digimons existance. He was an Ultimate, all right, but not just any Ultimate. Rand knew for a fact that this digimon could slay a variety of Mega levels with minimal complications - he had seen it with his very own eyes. This is bad. He knew exactly why the digimon was there, but not who had sent it or what to do. But he was thinking. Quickly.  
Exedramon snapped out of his reverie seconds later, and was about to kabob Rand in one of its razor-sharp claws when a voice called from behind him. "Rand!" The digimon whirled.  
Takato and Juri, both panting from a bout of energetic running, stood about twenty meters distant. The had just come to within visible distance of the fight, and Takato had spotted Random in just enough time to call out his name, but hadn't seen the Exedramon in time enough to stop himself. When the digimon turned and faced him, he gulped. "Whoops." Juri, running up behind him, saw it in reverse order - Exedramon in enough time to cry out, Rand seconds later.  
The Ultimate started to race toward Takato and Juri without a single word. This had been his mission, his errand, his mark, and victory was so close, he could smell it.  
"Super Thunder Strike!" Rand's hands were up again, this time in at a higher angle. Clouds formed instantly in the sky, launching a flurry of lightning bolts upon Exedramon's position.  
He was no longer smelling victory. Instead, he was inhaling the fumes of his own scales being cooked under the lightning barrage. It didn't hurt, since the attack was so much weaker than he, but in this case the attack was not aimed to injure - it was aimed to impede. The bolts of lighting struck in a continuous rain, blocking off Exedramon's advance and occasionally striking him a stunning blow. He wasn't going to go anywhere for the moment - in fact, the attack had been so brilliantly executed that he was having a hard time breathing between strikes.  
Rand knew that Exedramon's rage was legendary, and it would only be so long before the Ultimate finally shrugged off the assault and came for his throat. He yelled over the repetitive booms of lightning. "Takato! Juri! Go around!" He waved both hands an jumped up and down, attempting to grasp their attention.  
Takato took one look at Random's frenetic motions and grabbed Juri's hand. They both took off around the stunned digimon, arriving in Random's vicinity about the same time the entrance doors to the Shinbaya complex flew open, ejecting both Jenry and Ruki. Within seconds the five teens were together once in one place.  
"Takato! Juri!" Jenrya and Ruki cried out upon sighting their friends at the same time Takato and Juri did. "Jenrya! Ruki!" There was no time for hugs or hand shakes, however. Exedramon was rapidly growing more and more outraged - soon he would be free. Jenrya, fast thinker and brilliant mind that he was, took the whole thing at face value and grasped the reality of their peril. He and Ruki had seen the beginning attacks from the balcony window and had rushed down to help - although, what two digimonless Tamers could do at this point was debatable.  
Ruki was less thought oriented and more action oriented - hence, she caught on almost as quickly, but did something about it. She spoke the first idea that came to her mind. "We gotta get out of here! The digimon isn't going to be happy when he pulls free."  
Takato layed out the problem before them. "Where? I don't think we'll be safe anywhere in the entire city from that thing."  
"He's right." Rand brought the D-Chrono to up so that he could... speak into it? "We're not going to be safe if we stick around much longer. I'm getting us out of here." Keying the D-Chrono with his other hand, he paused, pressed another button, and then spoke. "Guys! We have a problem!"  
"We know." The reply was gruff, loud, and high-pitched. "Valkyriemon's working on getting the portal moved to your position. Get ready, all!"  
Before any of these things could be explained - the odd watch-looking device, the voice it emitted, or the portal it spoke of - Exedramon finally broke free from his electrical chains and spun to face them. He roared, the sound so loud that most of them had to cover their ears - save Rand, who was too busy coordinating their position through the D-Chrono to bother. The digimon hurdled directly for Rand, mouth open, claws extended.  
He should have moved, but for a variety of reasons, he physically couldn't. Doing so would have interrupted the signals he was digitally sending, for one. However, before Exedramon tackled him, a circle of light appeared in the ground and at the same time spat out a bluish-white blur. The blur smacked into Exedramon, sending both it and the other digimon flying through the air. Rand smiled. Perfect timing. Damned perfect timing!  
The bluish-whitish blur turned out to be yet another digimon. Unlike Exedramon, this one was fully dragon-like, wings included. Most of it's lower half was white and bone-like, whereas the rest was monotone blue scale - save for it's beaklike mouth and bone-white front claws. Its wing membranes were red, and a large blade protruded from the top of its head. AeroVeedramon. Rearing, unleashed a lightning-fast attack at Exedramon. "V Wing Blade!"  
Unfortunately, Exedramon wasn't fooling around anymore. His Ragemight ability was fully activated - to put it mildly, he was incredibly pissed off. He deflected the shot without so much as a wince and lunged foreward, grasping AeroVeedramon by the neck. The two grappled furiously.  
The fight gave Random some time, however. Despite the seemingly ignored attack, AeroVeedramon was a fighter with millennia of battle experience. He would give Exedramon one hell of a challenge. Rand turned to face the Tamers, who, overwhelmed with everything that was happening, stood mutely, eyes moving back and forth between the fight, the portal, and Rand.  
"I know this is going to sound ludicrous, especially since none of you four know who I am, what I am, where I come from, or why I am here. But trust me when I say that your lives are in extreme danger - as if tonight weren't evidence enough." He increased the speed of his words, attempting to spit them all out before Exedramon finally overcame AeroVeedramon. It would happen, not quickly, but it would happen - Exedramon was that strong. "I think you all know exactly where this portal goes."  
The four nodded. They all knew, of course. Actualy, they knew a good bit more than Rand gave the credit for. Juri took a step foreword. "You're Rand, right? I never got to thank you for saving our lives earlier." She bowed slightly, then continued. "You all know us, I think."  
Jenrya was next. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Jenrya Lee." He strode foreword and extended a hand, which Rand shook. Then, pausing to glance at the fight, he withdrew a pair of... sunglasses... and put them on. He had never once put them on since losing Terriermon, but this seemed like a prime opportunity. "Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a long night?"  
"Because it will be." Ruki had already placed her own violet-tinted sunglasses on. "I don't know exactly who you are, but you've already gained my trust - for now. Lead on."  
"Mine too." Takato had strapped on his goggled. They looked odd on his wide face, and yet fit perfectly. "You saved my life, too. I don't think I could go home without repaying you."  
An explosion halted the conversation as Exedramon's Sonic Crusher smashed into AeroVeedramon, sending him flying across the park and into a brick building. Voices cried out from various structures surrounding the park. Rand had one final thing to say, however, and nodded. "I appreciate this. We all do. I saved your lives, Juri, Takato, because without you - all of you - the digital world is doomed. A new threat has arisen since the D-Reaper was defeated three years prior. In fact, mainly because of it." Another Sonic Crusher boomed past them, crashing into another building. The fight was quickly growing out of control - it was time to leave.  
With a single cry - "Follow me!" - Rand flipped into the circle of energy and was gone. Without hesitation, the Tamers followed after, first Takato (Didn't we do this once?), then Juri (The digital world...), Jenrya (Glad I brought my D-Power...), and finally Ruki (Renamon... are you out there?).  
Light flared around the five, and they were gone, streaking through a digital wormhole, a series of loops and corkscrews composed of purplish- gray digital matter. As they hurdled through, they were each in turn converted to digital data.  
And so, their next new adventure had just begun. There would be trials, sorrow, and uncertainty, but there would also be new friends, new challenges, and hopefully satisfaction at the end.  
But would they survive?  
  
TBC in the next... DIGIMON!  
  
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